s/v Natasha
Engine replacement and hull repair
October 28th 2011 to Feb 28th, 2012 (and beyond!)
Carey & I (along with Dick & Marjory Cooksley) have owned “Natasha” since November of 2003 when we purchased her in Victoria BC. A very basic, neglected, and unmodified 1978 Islander Bahama 30 that was named “Folly”, this boat was sailed up from San Diego by her previous owner. Since our purchase “Natasha” has been transformed into a very comfortable cruiser. Virtually all of her gear, inside and out, has been replace or renewed.
At the time of purchase I knew that there were some bottom blisters visible through the anti-fouling paint. This was no different than our previous Islander Bahama 30, “Dreamer”. I also knew that the original raw-water cooled Volvo MD7A was close to 30 years old and, although running strongly, would need eventual replacement. With reliability issues becoming apparent last summer, the winter of 2012 was going to be the year for this work. Because of their limited use of the boat, Dick & Marjory decided to bow out of the boat partnership. They had difficulty justifying the expense of a new engine when they only used the boat two weeks in the summer. Now, as sole owners of the boat, the winter of 2011/12 would be the “project” winter. The tasks would include:
1. Replace the Volvo MD7A with a Beta 20 sail-drive, including a new control panel.
2. Replace the 20 gallon aluminum fuel tank.
3. Re-wire the majority of the boat to comply with current ABYC standards.
4. Rebuild the battery compartment to meet current ABYC standards.
5. Install a new electrical panel to match the replaced wiring.
6. Repair the bottom blisters and apply Interprotect 2000e barrier coat.
7. Re-paint the bottom with International CSC antifouling.
8. Re-paint the boot stripe with International Perfection paint.
9. Remove the rudder and inspect/lubricate all cables/pulleys.
10. Replace the propane locker with a system to comply with current ABYC standards.
11. Replace the stern through-hulls with Marelon fittings, re-align the hoses.
12. Prime and paint the stern & cockpit locker.
The project called for a haul-out at Canoe Cove Marina, Sidney BC, on Friday, October 28th with a completion date near the end of February 2012. Canoe Cove marina has a “boat yard” where owners can work on their own boats. March saw the dry land storage rates double into their “spring” rate, incentive to launch before the end of February.
Engine Replacement
For the engine replacement I looked at Yanmar, Volvo, Sole and Beta in a sail-drive configuration. After considerable research on the Internet, and with local distributors, the decision was made to go with a Beta 20.
The basic Beta 20 sail drive unit was priced at about $12,000 with the manufacturer usually gives a 10% discount at the winter boat shows. That’s a significant savings! But the nearest boat show wasn’t until February 2012 in Vancouver! The timing was off. I would have to work on Ben Gartside of Gartside Marine, the Canadian distributor for Beta, to see if we could move that up somewhat. My plan was to order the engine for a late December delivery. It would take until then to repair the bottom before applying the Interprotect 2000e barrier coat. In the meantime, work would commence on doing the electrical work, etc.
Saildrive
I have often been asked, “Why a sail-drive”? There are a number of reasons for that decision.
# 1 Noise and vibration mitigation. Even after replacing the engine mounts and adding sound insulation to the old Volvo MD7A I found the noise and vibration tolerable, but not ideal. I would have liked to install an Aquadrive system on the prop shaft. This system inserts a thrust bearing with constant velocity joint between the shaft and engine, allowing considerable latitude for engine movement without alignment problems. This, in turn, allows for more flexible engine mounts and less vibration transmitted to the hull. As I said, I would have liked to install this system, even with the new Beta engine on a shaft. However the engine compartment on an Islander 30 is simply too short for the engine and drive system. There wouldn’t be enough room without major reconfiguration. The new sail drive system allows for the optimum in mount flexibility, reducing transmitted vibration.
I also opted for the Beta 20 (instead of the 13 or 16hp) simply because three cylinders will inherently run smoother than two cylinders. I doubted that I would ever use all 20 hp (the Volvo was 13 hp at maximum cruising rpm, barely adequate for an 8,500lb boat).
#2 Ease of installation. The Beta 20 could have fit in the compartment with a shaft, but I would have had to re-configure the stuffing box, shaft and strut to accommodate the new engine, tasks that may have been beyond my skill level. The sail drive does not require any alignment and is quite simple to install. A sailing friend of mine, with an identical Bahama 30, had his Volvo professionally replaced with a 2 cyl Yanmar with a shaft drive. The engine cost him about $9,000, and it cost that much again for the installation once the rest of the drivetrain was replaced! I would rather put that money into the machinery than into the mechanic. In my particular installation I had to re-position bulkheads and cabinetry to get the bed to fit into the current engine compartment, but this was work I could do with my limited skills.
#3 Propeller size. The maximum size prop I could swing on the standard strut was 13” in diameter, limited by the proximity to the hull. Additional thrust from this size propeller would be difficult to obtain without cavitation. Going to a three bladed prop would induce considerably more drag under sail. An option would have been a three bladed folding or feathering propeller. However, finding the appropriate 13” diameter for that style of propeller was proving almost impossible and very expensive. With a sail drive I would have room to swing a 15” diameter propeller if necessary. As it was, the sail drive came with a 14” Gori two bladed folding prop which would give plenty of thrust with low drag.
Blister Repair
Another major component of this project was to repair hundreds of blisters visible through the bottom paint. I had already done this repair 20 years earlier on a sister ship (Dreamer) and was aware of the potential work involved. The intention was to strip off the anti-fouling paint, open the individual blisters, let the bottom dry out over the winter, repair the blisters with epoxy, and then apply Interprotect 2000e barrier coat before new antifouling paint.
Wiring
The third major component of this project was to re-wire the stern half of the boat. As installed at the factory, all the wiring for the port side of the boat went through the engine compartment, hanging over the engine. All the engine control wiring also went through this compartment. Over the years this wiring, along with the battery compartment under the quarter-berth, and electrical panel at the “nav station”, had become a warren’s nest of wiring as owners added and modified systems. Current wiring terminated in corroded fittings, or simply ended with no connections at all. It was time to replace and organize the wiring to ensure future safety. With the engine out of the way, this would be the perfect time to undertake that task.
This document is the log of work (and changes in direction) as the project progressed.
Thursday, Oct 27th
Although haul-out was scheduled for the following day, 28th of October, the weather forecast was for heavy rain for the Friday. I called up Canoe Cove Marina and they had an opening for a lift at 1230 on the 27th. The “Natasha” was ready, stripped down to a bare boat. Off I went on the last run of the Volvo! I powered over to Canoe Cove under calm, sunny skies and then waited at the Cafe while marina staff power washed the bottom, moved the boat from the Travel-Lift to the trailer, and then into the back part of the boat yard between two other boats. Once set into place I measured for tarps to enclose the hull/bottom and drove over to Sleggs Lumber Supplies to purchase them. I applied tape to both sides of the hull to prevent water from running down under the boat, forcing the water to drip off the hull at the tape first. Then I hung the tarps from the slotted toe-rail to enclose the bottom. I couldn’t cover the decks yet until the engine was out, I need to use the boom to hoist the engine up and out, over the side, and onto the ground.
Friday, Oct 28th
The weather prediction was right, heavy rain all day! It was as wet under the boat as above! I had taped above the water line to get the water to drip off the hull and that had worked in some places and not in others. I had to move some of the tape. It was a soggy mess underneath.
I started the task of removing the engine, disconnecting as much as I could until I ran out of tools (which were at home). A bit soggy inside as well without the dodger up to protect the hatch. The rain just fell in. Despite all that, I applied a layer of Boat Bright Soy stripper to a dry section of the starboard side bottom paint, covering it with saran wrap as the instructions call for. The task of removing the bottom paint to get at the blisters was started. I would see the results the following day.
Saturday, Oct 29th
The engine came out and, although a bit nerve wracking, it went without a hitch. I experimented with 4-1 purchase off the boom for the heavy flywheel, transmission, and starter motor. That went well and so I went with the 6-1 purchase for the main block. A bit scary with that much weight dangling over the cockpit and then swinging out over the side. But down it went . The engine ended up under the boat and I would have to figure out a way of getting it home. The rest of the parts (except the transmission) were already there.
The saran wrap on the paint remover came off easily, but the bottom paint didn’t. I applied more with a fabric roller (instead of the foam one I used the day before, which disintegrated) and didn’t cover it this time.
Monday, Oct 31st
I got some work done, some good, some not so good. It was a sunny and warm day so that was part of the good stuff. The bottom paint remover wasn’t doing as well as I would have hoped. Although softening the paint somewhat, it still took a lot of effort with a scrapper to remove. I experimented with other options including sanding and heat-gun. The heat gun, although time consuming, was a lot easier on the arms. I would still have to sand afterwards but I would deal with that when I got to it. I managed to strip down part of the starboard side of the keel along with some of the hull above that area. The blisters were not nearly as bad as I thought either. The big ones were simply blisters in the anti-fouling paint.
I started the clean-up of the engine room and cockpit locker as well. The instrument panel came out along with the propane tank and locker and everything associated to that. The wiring was all cut loose and I had to figure out what had to go and what needed to stay. All the engine parts were now at home except the block. I bought two more tarps and put them over the deck, tying them down and taping them into place. It would stay pretty dry under there. All in all; a successful day.
Friday, Nov 4th
Another day of working on the bottom and in the engine compartment. I did a bit more stripping with the heat gun. It was slow and tedious work. I applied two more patches of the soy stripper, hoping that it would speed the removal a bit. The following day would tell the story. The weather was cool so it would probably take more than one day for the stripper to do its’ job. You would think at $145 per gallon it would be more effective!
Then it was continue stripping out the engine room. Dirty work. The water lift exhaust was pulled out, all the wiring to the engine panel pulled out along with the engine stop cable, etc. There was lots to do. I needed a gear puller to get the coupling off the shaft. I took the head off the rudder post after disconnecting the cables. The shaft dropped about 8” until the quadrant hit the top of the stuffing box. The top bearing looks pretty good. The bottom one is a bit wobbly but I thought I would be able to graphite/epoxy that in place so I wouldn’t have to remove the rudder.
I ordered the Beta 20 from Gartside Marine Engines with a delivery date sometime late in December. Gartside Marine just happens to be the Canadian distributor for Beta, and he happens to be in Sidney about two blocks from where we live. I had also been dealing with Ben Gartside as a mechanic for years and knew him well. Convenient! The order was for a Beta 20 without the overpowering red paint, the deluxe “C” control panel and left hand Gori folding prop. The sail drive unit comes from the factory white, the Kabota engine comes from the factory blue, Beta turns everything red. I didn’t particularly want a red engine. The standard prop for this combination was a right-hand Gori folder. I wanted a left hand unit as I’ve always sailed with a left hand propeller. I’m used to the stern walking to starboard when in reverse. Walking to starboard in reverse was also perfect for entering my home slip.
Saturday, Nov 5th
The stripper hadn’t really started to work yet so the saran wrap was left on to keep it moist. I didn’t even try to remove any of the paint. I emptied the fuel tank (seemed to be an endless supply of fuel when trying to get rid of it!) with the vacuum oil change pump. I took all the hoses out of the back end of the boat, including all the drain hoses, bilge pump hoses and fuel tank filler hose. All were original and beyond their life expectancy. The fuel tank needed to come out to get at the drivetrain strut bolts and to install the new engine bed. I was hoping it may just slip out of the stern cockpit hatch. I knew it wouldn’t fit out the now empty engine compartment, was too wide.